During the construction or remodeling of a building it is frequently necessary or desirable to remove the meeting rail of a window to allow building materials such as drywall, fixtures, and other objects to be moved into or out of the building through the window instead of through a door. This is especially true if the door is a long distance from the current or desired location of the objects being moved into or out of the building, or due to obstacles near the entrance that make it difficult to move large objects into or out of the structure. For the same reasons, it may also be desirable to move certain large objects such as furniture, appliances, and the like into an existing older structure through a window instead of a door.
Under normal conditions, a single hung window only allows access through the approximate bottom half by removing the sash. But by removing the meeting rail and top glass, the available space is approximately doubled. Meeting rails are frequently attached to the window frame or jamb via several screws or other attachment devices, and in order to remove the meeting rail to allow a large object to pass through the window, it is necessary to disassemble the meeting rail at both ends to remove it from the window frame and jamb and, of course, also necessary to reassemble the meeting rail once the moving operation has been completed.
Prior art exists of various mechanisms to accomplish this removal/reinstallation, but most designs have either too many fasteners to be customer-friendly, are not self-locating, or are not structurally sound enough for all weather conditions. It would be very useful to have a window meeting rail connection system that meets all these criteria.